Safe Spaces

Earlier I wrote about tie downs and how useful they can be in animal management. Here was the picture I used at the time, showing him tethered in an out-of-the-way corner of our kitchen.

As most of you know, Jonah is an incredibly anxious dog. For the first week in our home, he was only comfortable in his crate and would scramble to get back inside it if he were not in it.

The next few weeks, he decided that a certain spot on the couch was his safe space. After a week or so, we began moving him to another area of the couch. It didn’t take him more than two days to generalize and for the entire couch to become a safe space.

After being tethered in the kitchen corner a few times, that has now become another one of his safe spaces. Anytime he is being walked by the corner he will detour there to sit down–even if his bed isn’t there.

We will continue to introduce Jonah to new corners of our house until the entire thing becomes one huge safe space for him.